Multi-antenna systems for mobile communications have been intensively discussed recently. In a single input multiple output (SIMO) case, one transmit antenna at the base station and multiple receive antennas at the mobile station are applied. The latter is, in particular, of interest for mobile phones using high data rates in a downlink, i.e., base station-to-mobile direction. Commonly-used multiple antenna receiver architectures need separate receive chains from each receive antenna to digital baseband, including an RF (Radio Frequency) path and a digital baseband processing path for each receive antenna, which is non-optimal regarding occupied chip area and consumption of power.
Hence, there is the need for improved SIMO- or antenna diversity receiver concepts allowing for reduced chip area and reduced power consumption.